Marvel's Wolverine Confirms Surprising Number Of Playable Characters As Fans Call For The X-Men

The claws are out when it comes to Marvel's Wolverine, and while the existence of a much more violent game from the team behind Marvel's Spider-Man wasn't exactly a surprise, that didn't make us any less hypeD when it was eventually confirmed in 2021. Since then, we've dealt with unofficial leaks and official teases alike, finally getting to grips with the clawed Canadian in a June 2026 PlayStation State of Play.

The blood-soakedgameplay for Marvel's Wolverine gave us glimpses of Sabretooth, Mystique, Omega Red, Leech, and more. Although some guy in red sparked speculation of Deadpool (since debunked), we guess you'll have to settle for Jean Grey. An unexpected appearance from the X-Men staple and Wolverine's occasional love interest left us with more questions, but now, Insomniac Games has answered one of the most pressing ones about our flame-haired heroine.

Can You Play As The X-Men In Marvel's Wolverine?

The arrival of Jean Grey in the Wolverine gameplay was an easy highlight, but it led to rampant speculation that we'd be able to play as her. After all, everyone from Miles Morales to Venom has been playable in the Spider-Man games. Just as long as it wasn't playing as Jean in a mechanic reminiscent of those maligned Mary Jane Watson stealth missions, we'd be happy.

Of course, Mystique's shapeshifting abilities would also make her another prime candidate to be a playable addition to Marvel's Wolverine.

Sadly, Insomniac has dashed our hopes. As pointed out in a Reddit thread, the developer has responded to a direct question asking about a playable Jean. Here, we were firmly told: "You play as Wolverine/Logan all the way through."

Not only does this put Jean out of the running, but also the possibility of playing as anyone other than our short kind. The person replying may be giving a default response to save a later surprise, but don't count on it.

Where Are The X-Men In Marvel's Wolverine?

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Jean might be one thing, but where are the rest of Charles Xavier's gifted youngsters in Marvel's Wolverine? In an interview with Eurogamer, creative director Marcus Smith reiterated that they don't exist in this universe.

Explaining the decision, Smith added: "We wanted to focus on a Wolverine storyline and really build it from that character and build a world that is in a state where mutants aren't well known.

“They are known; they're falling victim to people who do know about them and want to destroy them."

This makes it sound like the X-Men don't exist yet, but if Wolverine is as much of a hit as it has the potential to be, we could see the idea expand.

Don't feel too bad for Wolvie though, because it sounds like he'll still have his own team.

Smith continued: “At the very beginning of the game, Logan actually belongs on a team called Team X, and he has teamed up with Sabretooth, who you see in the gameplay trailer. But there are no X-Men."

Giving a tantalising tease of an expanded Insomniac universe, he concluded: "There will be a lot of Marvel characters that come into the storyline; so we've already shown Mystique in the earlier trailer, we've shown Sabretooth, Jean Grey in this one, and players can expect to have a lot more throughout the game."

We'd be surprised if Charles Xavier doesn't appear in a last-minute cameo to set up a sequel, but in terms of suiting up as Jean, Cyclops, Storm, or any of the other series stalwarts, we might be waiting a while. A shame, as going full beast mode as Hank McCoy would undoubtedly be a lot of fun.

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